Labour's Owl Pledge

Re-reading the tweet I think people have got the wrong idea about this.

"Everybody should have his own owl."

There is no promise the government will pay for this, only the threat that owl ownership may be made compulsory during the next Labour term.

I think this is dangerous.

Firstly, Owls are not domestic pets and as others have said it may be regarded as cruel to keep one inside.

Secondly, there are worrying health and safety concerns about keeping birds of prey in the same house as young children.

Thirdly, this country does not yet have the infrastructure in place for the mass breeding, distribution and care of 63.2 million owls. In order to supply the number of owls needed a massive investment would be needed right now in breeding facilities throughout the UK. Although the benefits in employment may be significant it would require specialist training and I doubt there are enough trained owl breeders in the UK to cope. We would have to issue urgent work permits to bring in owl breeders from other parts of the world where owl ownership is more widespread such as Canada.

Fourthly, such investment would potentially price the average owl out of reach of many people. Many people may see this as an unnecesssary burden on already-stretched household budgets. Labour have not even suggested that Owls will be made zero-rated for VAT.

Please put pressure on your MP to get Labour to reverse this dangerous policy and sign our petition:

Parody more than satire, but brilliantly authentic in tone and style! We would advise you that our consultative committee is minded to award this valuable submission the sum of 5*. (Oh, bollocks, to use a well-worn phrase, wrong forum.)

There was a serious chap on the wireless the other morning. His concern was the neccesary increase in mice and other small rodents required to sustain a 6m+ owl population. Labour really havn't thought this undeliverable policy through again have they?

I remember some nature lover ranting on about the demolition of old barns, and what a threat this was for barn owls. He didn't explain how barn owls managed to evolve and then flourish for umpteen thousand years before anyone got around to building any barns in the first place.

Titus, umpteen years ago there used to be vast areas of marshland where barn owls & many other species thrived. Humans destroyed these for their own needs. Farmers noticed that they got fewer rats & mice in their grain stores when owls were about, so they built barns with access holes, so the owls could nest. Have a close look at traditional barns. Modern barns don't have these access holes, so the owls lose out yet again. That's why conservationists are trying to restore the status quo, and help out farmers in the process.

I like all owls including barn owls (they are excellent predators of vermin) but I am amused by their name which imples that barns came first and barn owls owls evolved to occupy them.

According to that excellent link, if you want to attract barn owls / night owls / marsh owls, they have quite strong preference for nesting in places a specific height above ground in distinctly barn-like structures. So where, precisely, did the marsh owls live?

Also "Screech Owl", "White Owl" and several other names I think. "Barn Owl" is the name chosen by current taxonomists, who started naming things well after barns were invented. N America has its own versions of Screech Owls, before someone points that out

There is also "Marsh Owl" which is the African version of our Short-Eared Owl. It, too, hunts over marshes